What’s in a Name? Here Are The Most Popular In Senior Living

Share

The most popular names of residents in senior living provide a glimpse into the history of trending baby names throughout the decades, according to a new analysis of popular names over time by the nation’s largest senior living referral source, A Place for Mom (APFM).

APFM, which works with more than 100,000 new families each month, reviewed their move-in data on the names of assisted living residents from 2000 to 2014.

Mary tops the list for female names, while James, Robert and John dominate among the most popular male names.

Advertisement

“We’ve noticed some distinct trends in the names of seniors we’ve served,” APFM says in a statement. “Specifically, similar names tend to pop up over and over again.”

APFM data also reflects much of what is seen when looking at trending names throughout decades past.

Source: APFM

Between the years 1914 and 2013, more than 3.6 million baby girls born in the U.S. were named Mary, accounting for over 2.1% of total female births, according to the Social Security Administration.

In addition to Mary, Dorothy and Betty were also popular names among women in assisted living nationwide between 2000and 2014, APFM data show.

In the past 100 years in the United States, 4 million baby boys were named James, John, Robert and Michael — about 11% of all male babies during this time period, according to the Social Security Administration.

While Michael was not a very popular name amongst male assisted living residents between 2000 and 2014, other trending names seen in assisted living during that period are Joseph, William and Charles, among others.

The impending wave of baby boomers into the senior population will bring more than just massive numbers of potential residents. This isn’t merely a question of bulk. It’s a question of breadth, with a wider range of seniors becoming inherently trickier to serve.

Health care costs for seniors are soaring, health levels are plateauing and experts across the care continuum are searching for fixes to both. The answer could be found by going back to the basics in medical care.